Viruses in sanctuary chimpanzees across Africa

Infectious disease is a major concern for both wild and captive primate populations. Primate sanctuaries in Africa provide critical protection to thousands of wild‐born, orphan primates confiscated from the bushmeat and pet trades. However, uncertainty about the infectious agents these individuals p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of primatology 2023-01, Vol.85 (1), p.e23452-n/a
Main Authors: Dunay, Emily, Owens, Leah A., Dunn, Christopher D., Rukundo, Joshua, Atencia, Rebeca, Cole, Megan F., Cantwell, Averill, Emery Thompson, Melissa, Rosati, Alexandra G., Goldberg, Tony L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa - epidemiology
Anelloviridae
Animal populations
Animals
Animals, Zoo - virology
Blood
Blood tests
Chimpanzees
conservation
Conserved sequence
Enteroviruses
Flaviviridae
Genomoviridae
great ape
health
Hepadnaviridae
Infections
Infectious diseases
Metagenomics
Monkeys & apes
Pan troglodytes
Pan troglodytes - virology
Parvoviridae
Persistent infection
Picobirnaviridae
Picornaviridae
Plant virus diseases
Primates
Respiratory diseases
Rhabdoviridae
Rhinovirus
Sanctuaries
Torque
Uncertainty
virome
Virus Diseases - epidemiology
Virus Diseases - veterinary
Virus Diseases - virology
Viruses
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Summary:Infectious disease is a major concern for both wild and captive primate populations. Primate sanctuaries in Africa provide critical protection to thousands of wild‐born, orphan primates confiscated from the bushmeat and pet trades. However, uncertainty about the infectious agents these individuals potentially harbor has important implications for their individual care and long‐term conservation strategies. We used metagenomic next‐generation sequencing to identify viruses in blood samples from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in three sanctuaries in West, Central, and East Africa. Our goal was to evaluate whether viruses of human origin or other “atypical” or unknown viruses might infect these chimpanzees. We identified viruses from eight families: Anelloviridae, Flaviviridae, Genomoviridae, Hepadnaviridae, Parvoviridae, Picobirnaviridae, Picornaviridae, and Rhabdoviridae. The majority (15/26) of viruses identified were members of the family Anelloviridae and represent the genera Alphatorquevirus (torque teno viruses) and Betatorquevirus (torque teno mini viruses), which are common in chimpanzees and apathogenic. Of the remaining 11 viruses, 9 were typical constituents of the chimpanzee virome that have been identified in previous studies and are also thought to be apathogenic. One virus, a novel tibrovirus (Rhabdoviridae: Tibrovirus) is related to Bas‐Congo virus, which was originally thought to be a human pathogen but is currently thought to be apathogenic, incidental, and vector‐borne. The only virus associated with disease was rhinovirus C (Picornaviridae: Enterovirus) infecting one chimpanzee subsequent to an outbreak of respiratory illness at that sanctuary. Our results suggest that the blood‐borne virome of African sanctuary chimpanzees does not differ appreciably from that of their wild counterparts, and that persistent infection with exogenous viruses may be less common than often assumed. Highlights Chimpanzee blood samples from sanctuaries in West, Central, and East Africa contained 26 viruses from eight viral families. Only one virus, rhinovirus C (Picornaviridae), has been associated with disease in captive or wild chimpanzees. Persistent infections with exotic or pathogenic blood‐borne viruses appear to be rare in sanctuary chimpanzees, suggesting that longstanding concerns over such viruses may be overstated.
ISSN:0275-2565
1098-2345
DOI:10.1002/ajp.23452